Nashville’s MLS expansion team has officially unveiled the team name, crest and colors during a special event at Marathon Music Works.
The club will be known as Nashville SC, after majority owner John Ingram and the rest of the team’s ownership group turned to fans for their input, and the fans spoke loud and clear on what they wanted—to keep the name of Nashville’s pro soccer team Nashville SC.
In addition, the team’s colors will be ‘acoustic blue’ and ‘electric gold,’ as the fans wanted to retain gold as the primary color of the club.
“Since I first got involved in this effort, I have said that I wanted to do something ‘In Nashville, for Nashville, with Nashville.’ This team will always be about the fans and creating a team and brand that they are proud to support,” said Ingram in a team statement. “The Nashville SC name and primary gold color, along with the themes of sound and energy in the logo, embody our city and our fans who have been with us from the start.”
The club’s crest is intended to evoke sound waves, in tune with the city’s reputation as ‘Music City.’
Nashville SC also unveiled the inaugural MLS season hashtag, #BandTogether. They will begin play in MLS in 2020.
“We wanted a name and an identity that was authentic in the sport. It says exactly who we represent and who we are, Nashville Soccer Club,” said Nashville MLS CEO Ian Ayre. “Our announcement is another step forward, and we have many others to take, but it is important to start that with a clear identity of who we are. Gold is our primary club color, and we need to own that color in the sport. As we grow as a team we want to be recognizable by our color, our name and our values as a club. It was important to us that we started that by bringing the brand to life in a uniquely Nashville setting with our supporters, our partners, our owners, Major League Soccer and everyone who made this possible, and of course with music. Throughout 2019, we will be doing our best to bring everyone along on our journey as we #BandTogether Nashville and Soccer on our march to MLS.”
Nashville became the league’s 24th franchise in December, 2017, and is owned by the investment group, Nashville Soccer Holdings, LLC, led by Ingram, the chairman of Ingram Industries, Inc.
Ingram’s partners in the soccer club include Minnesota Vikings owners Mark, Zygi and Leonard Wilf, and the Turner Family, managing partners of Nashville-based Market Street Enterprises.
As a result of a private-public partnership between the club’s owners and the community, the team will play in a new, 27,500-seat soccer stadium at The Fairgrounds Nashville in the capital city’s artistic Wedgewood-Houston neighborhood.
The stadium is expected to be completed in time for the start of the 2021 season. For their inaugural campaign, Nashville will play at Nissan Stadium.
